Hitman 2 Review Xbox One: commendable stealth with mixed messaging

Unlike the stealth series like Dishonored or Thief, Hitman is all hidden in plain sight. Instead of going completely unnoticed, you can walk right in front of a target with them that is not the wisest if you're wearing the right disguise. This gives the Hitman franchise the ability to encourage gameplay that is usually not seen in a stealth game.

Stealth commendable

Hitman 2

Master of disguise.

Hitman 2 features eye-catching playgrounds that let you explore with a lot of variety, but lacks the sign in presenting a cohesive experience.

Hidden in plain sight

Many stealthy games, or games that only have some secret sections, are all about staying out of your enemy's sight, bypassing barriers and down dark paths to get to your destination. While you can certainly play Hitman 2 this way, if you want, where the game shines is its bonus for players to take on other characters. The agent 47 is the best killer out there because he strategically monitors his surroundings and takes advantage of the opportunities presented to approach a target. If this means dressing a mystical shaman or a typical construction worker, then so be it. You can use all the tools at your disposal and Hitman 2 offers many tools.

If this kind of stealth is not tempting, Hitman 2 still offers more hidden classic mechanics such as hiding in uncultivated foliage, melting into crowds and lurking behind corners. It is much more difficult to play the game this way as these are not exactly intended as alternative viable approaches to your missions, but more than one way to complete other paths.

More than one way to skin a cat

A fixed point in the Hitman series is the amount of freedom that is given to you to carry out your task. Although each target in Hitman 2 has some predetermined methods incorporated into the game on how they can be eliminated, you are allowed to do anything in your power to assassinate them. You are not limited to these methods, but they make your job a little easier and more interesting depending on how much you can take advantage of the scenarios presented.

A fixed point in the Hitman series is the amount of freedom that is given to you to carry out your task.

Do you dress up as a tailor and reach your goal waiting for their adaptation, unaware that it will be the last? Poison their food and hit as they drag away disoriented? Each path you take offers countless opportunities for you. The more you explore, the more information you acquire, thus opening up more opportunities.

While many developers pride themselves on the replayability of their games, it is difficult to invest so much of your time on something if you feel there are no valid incentives. Hitman 2 advertises its incentives quite openly. Immediately after completing a mission, you will see the new unlocked gadgets, new starting positions and new routes to complete the level just completed. Along with the ability to pursue a different method of murder, you may find it worthwhile to devote some of your time, but your mileage may vary depending on your favorite style of play.

I'm the kind of person who plays a stealth game as safely as possible, which means I do not draw attention to myself and try not to create chaotic scenes. For this reason, even if I unlocked new objects to use, I tended to keep some trustworthy and reliable items that always served me well; a pick, coins to throw for a quick distraction. That kind of thing. I never grabbed objects like concussive bombs because they did not fit my style of play.

From Miami to Mumbai

Hitman 2 offers six distinct positions, although one is quite small and serves more as a tutorial level. In addition to this starting point, everyone offers a wide variety of trips around the world from locations such as Miami, Mumbai, Colombia, Vermont and an island in the North Atlantic. From the chaotic slums to the quiet neighborhoods and to the events of high society for the global elite, I have never felt like I was rebuilding the territory.

Ghost Mode and Sniper Assassin

Because single player experiences are often difficult to monetize and pose a greater risk to creation, we have begun to see many games incorporating online elements of some kind. Hitman 2 joins the growing list of traditionally single-player games by doing just that. Ghost Mode and Sniper Assassin introduce competitive gameplay in multiplayer and online cooperative mode for the series, respectively.

The Ghost mode was announced as a beta experience at the launch of Hitman 2. Unfortunately I was not able to try it at the time of writing, even after several attempts to find a match. Putting one player against another, Ghost Mode challenges you to be the first to five kills. You start in the same position with the same goals and neither player starts with any gadgets. If you first kill one of your targets, your opponent has a limited amount of time to respond and a killing he has seen does not count. Although the level you are in is identical to that of your opponent, you do not exist in the same game world. As such, your actions will not affect your opponent's world. You can not cause a chaotic scene in the hope of slowing them down.

Since Sniper Assassin, the other new mode, can also be played alone, I managed to spend a little time. You have 15 minutes to eliminate several high-profile targets from a vantage point with your sniper rifle. This mode is decidedly less exciting than the main campaign. The sniper you start with has a tremendous amount of swing, making it hard to hit anything. The ability to stabilize your shotgun is mapped to the right trigger by pressing lightly without holding it down to shoot. I felt that this button layout was not intuitive and only made accuracy more difficult.

Furthermore, if an NPC finds a corpse, the entire position is blocked while the targets try to escape. If even one flees, the mission is interrupted. I'm not sure it's worth your time to unlock better updates for this mode.

Both Ghost Mode and Sniper Assassin have the potential to offer longevity to the game along the way, but I'm not sure that they will become popular enough to support a considerable player base.

The past of the agent 47

The plot of Hitman 2 is presented through several movies of still images, while the camera moves on them while the dialogue is pronounced. You can watch them without ever playing anyone in the campaign. Hitman 2 deepens the past of the agent 47 and his true research involving the Institute, Providence and the shadow client. If this is your first Hitman game, it's not a good starting point if you're in it for the narration. It is rather short and confused. If you are looking for a coherent story that is easy to understand without prior knowledge of the series, you will not find it here.

It is understandable that a sequel does not serve as a perfect starting point for your adventure, and it is unfair to ask him to do the same, but Hitman 2 does not provide enough background or explanation of what happened during the first game, and what is your goal at the moment You are essentially left in the dark.

Crisis of identity

Despite having renounced the episodic output like his predecessor, Hitman 2 does not even feel a game in all respects in the traditional sense. It's as if IO Interactive took the episodic format and put it together when all the work was complete. There are six main missions freely linked in Hitman 2 that can be played in any order you want. In fact, each mission is a separate download and the game is not even downloaded as a whole package. Presenting the game in this way gives a bit of identity crunching, as if IO Interactive were not sure what it should be. I feel like the resources have been hijacked to create a more cohesive and linear experience, the game would have shone more.

Conclusion

IO Interactive has decided to perfect the killer sandbox with Hitman 2. Although the studio is not at the height, Hitman 2 is a praiseworthy stealth experience that fans of the series should not miss. His future now depends on whether his Ghost mode and the elusive goals of celebrities can attract people's attention.

Stealth commendable

Hitman 2

Master of disguise.

Hitman 2 features eye-catching playgrounds that let you explore with a lot of variety, but lacks the sign in presenting a cohesive experience.

Professionals:

Beautiful environments

Satisfactory progression

Amount of freedom

replayability

Versus:

Crisis of identity

Subdued and short history

This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details.